Balls! Balls! Balls! (Of Snow)
by AprilLittle
Summary: Crack and AU! A super-duper hodgepodge of holiday-themed drabbles for members of the Caesar's Palace forum.
1. Mrs Everdeen

** Iris hit me first, so I shall respond in kind :)**

Her third attempt to realign the lid's threads with those on the base was a success. She leaned across the counter to nestle the large jar of comfrey back in with her other herbs. A dark green sprig, wrapped prettily with red ribbon, fell from where it had been perched to dry. _Mistletoe. _When Haymitch presented it to her after the Victory Tour, her flustered acceptance caused him to insist he brought it for medicinal purposes only. But as his visits occurred more frequently, and he lingered hours past the table's clearing in the evenings, she wondered.


	2. Forest Guide

**Down, Kitty! Down! _HISS!_**

A faint melody of jingling bells draws Gale's attention to a large white birch. Scanning the area around the tree, the lack of snow makes the predawn darkness impenetrable. He is about to blame his imagination for conjuring the noise, when the moon illuminates a plume of condensation in the chill air. Gale smiles as he notches an arrow and waits for the sun to reveal his prey. The deer's grunts help him track its foraging until a glint of sunshine catches on the creature's nose. _Red?_ His arrow pierces its heart. The red glow fades. _'Merry Christmas' to me._


	3. Eff this shit!

**Estoma - Hey, at least I didn't give you Gale, eh? ;)**

Effie removed her foot from the pedal at precisely the same moment the needle re-emerged from the fabric. _Wonderful__!_ The invitation to Peeta's annual holiday party had been a delightful surprise and the perfect opportunity to bring some style to the district.

She carefully made her way up the front walk, amazed to see everyone in outfits much like her own. _ Mine is better, of course. Just look at these gloriously festive feathers!_ At the end of the evening, she received confirmation of her superiority in the form of a moulded plastic trophy. _'Ugliest Sweater'?_


	4. Snowflakes

** Wookie - I'll trade you a Prim for a Prim!**

Katniss traces the intricately frozen patterns on the pane until the warmth of her skin reduces them to watery smudges. The sleeve of her shirt clears a small portion of glass, and she watches Prim navigate through the falling snow to a copse of oaks near their property's edge. Beneath the giant trees, her Little Duck frightens her for a moment, falling straight back into the snow. But when Prim's arms and legs begin to move, Katniss knows there is no reason for worry. _A snow angel. _She leans her brow against the cool glass and smiles.


	5. Satan

**Yo, Zero!**

With a small grooming comb, he works peppermint oil through his beard; though not as long or full as photos of Saint Nick's, Snow feels it will do. He pulls a red, fur-trimmed hat onto his head, cinches the wide black belt tight, and turns toward the mirrored wall panel to see if he looks as ridiculous as he feels. _Indeed._ For years before Panem existed, Santa proved that a certain degree of ridiculousness could gain - and maintain - vast power. He hoists his bag of parachutes over a shoulder. _ You better watch out. You better not cry._


	6. Caroling

**For Angel**

_ Have yourself a merry little Christmas. . ._

Enobaria's tongue moves along the point of her incisor to the sharpened end of the peppermint stick protruding from the corner of her mouth.

_ All is calm, all is bright. . . _

She crunches through the tapered tip, narrows her eyes at the carolers as they flip to a new page in their songbooks, then recommences honing.

_ Fa la la la la, la la la LA. . ._

When Brutus tosses a gingerbread man into her lap, inquiring where her Christmas spirit is, she nonchalantly stabs her candycane through the raisin depicting its doughy little heart.


	7. Watch It Burn

**For Zoey :)**

Thread adjusts his grip until he's confident he can toss the last spindly carcass to the top of the burnpile. With a grunt of effort, he manages to deposit it less than halfway up; _ a limb snagged on the cuff of my glove_ he insists to his sniggering squad. Still glaring, he signals for the pair of peacekeepers equipped with flamethrowers to ignite the edges. The rest of the troops patrol the perimeter of the flames to keep bystanders back. Thread stands with his arms crossed, watching as the remaining wisps of tinsel shrivel around brown needles, then disappear.


	8. Fragile

**For Tribs-**

A smear of red adorns the corner of Cato's mouth. His thumb rasps across day old stubble as he collects the sticky sweetness, then licks the finger clean. A tiny body sprawled before him receives a disgusted look before he shoves it from his path. _I barely even touched you_, he mutters in frustration. _Nothing I've done so far will impress her._ He sighs and strides back to the carnage. _She needs a real showstopper! _His hand hovers above the selection of tools, reluctantly choosing the bag of white icing. He starts reattaching the gingerbread man's severed arm.


	9. Frustrations

**For Kate-**

Frozen hands cupped around his mouth, he tries to breathe life back into numb fingers. Stark against last night's surprise snowfall, a tangle of wire lays. Gale retrieves the end that he's been attempting to free from the ceaseless loops for the last quarter of an hour. _I can tie a snare in under a minute_, he thinks. _Why can't I make sense of this mess? _A light tapping catches his ear and he looks up to find Posy peeking through the curtains. He waves. She smiles. The cold nearly forgotten, Gale attacks the twisted mess of Christmas lights with vigor.


	10. What a pain in the-

**For Zero-**

_I'm dreaming of a white Christmas_, Katniss sings softly. She snips a considerable length of red ribbon from the roll, ties a bow on the highest branch, and adjusts the tails _just so._

"It looks like your tree is bleeding," Haymitch says, chugging another glass of eggnogg.

Katniss ignores her mentor, even though his comment is _exactly_ what she wanted to hear.

Peeta steps through the front door as she finishes placing her homemade treetopper.

"I decorated the tree with snow!" she says.

"You decorated with _Snow_," Peeta chokes, staring at the miniature likeness of Panem's former President, an eight foot pine tree seemingly stuck up his ass.

Haymitch breaks the shocked silence with a belch. "Well done, sweetheart."


End file.
